The present invention relates to machining in general, and in particular to a progressive die tool.
In a progressive die tool, a strip or block of material (blank) “progresses” from station to station inside the die, as openings or features are created in the strip. Multiple punches are set in a specific order to produce the desired pattern of openings and features of the machined (manufactured) part.
Machined parts which carry or otherwise bear a load are typically manufactured from a bearing material that is suitable for the designed load. FIG. 4 shows an illustrative example of typical machined part 400. The part is a gearing plate used in motor gear reduction assemblies. Openings 402 are formed in the plate 400 for supporting gearing pivots. As such, these openings are load bearing holes and so the gearing plate 400 is typically made from a bearing material such as bronze, a relatively expensive metal as compared to steel.
As can be seen in FIG. 4, the load bearing openings 402 constitute a very small fraction of the structure of the gearing plate 400. Therefore, the structural advantage of bronze is not used for most of the machined part. There is a need for a tool that can produce lower cost parts by using a lower cost materials, but still provide load bearing surfaces or other load bearing areas in the part that are possible using higher cost materials.